


Blue Tongues

by UhmLikeWhet



Category: Carmilla (Web Series)
Genre: Changing POVs, Eventual Smut, F/F, F/M, Flashbacks, Fluff, Gen, Hell on Earth, MEEEH YOULL SEE, Purgatory, Purgatory AU, actually... It's kind of all supernatural, back stories, heaven on earth - Freeform, just not the characters, no supernatural
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-12
Updated: 2015-03-14
Packaged: 2018-03-17 12:06:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,314
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3528785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UhmLikeWhet/pseuds/UhmLikeWhet
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>GOOGLE:<br/>pur·ga·to·ry<br/>ˈpərɡəˌtôrē/<br/>noun<br/>1.<br/>(in Roman Catholic doctrine) a place or state of suffering inhabited by the souls of sinners who are expiating their sins before going to heaven.</p><p>~ Each of our characters find themselves in purgatory. It's their job to find out why and move on, or except it and stay. Sometimes it's not too easy. Being stuck in a hell on earth can - quite unbelievably - have its ups and downs. ~</p><p>Warnings:<br/>-everyone is dead<br/>-sad flashbacks and death stories<br/>-lucid dreams<br/>-so fucking fluffy, this might as well be a picture of a cotton ball.</p><p>P.S. This is my version of purgatory, this is in no means the "correct" way of describing a "hell on earth"</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> So I thought I'd give this a try. I'm actually kind of interested in conspiracy theories about purgatory so why not start a fic?

She woke up in a beautifully flowered field. She felt around her arms length and smiled at the soft feel of the grass and peddles. She sniffed the air and hummed to the magnificent floral scent rushing to her scenes.

Her eyes struggled to open, constantly having to give them a rest and adjust to the brightness. 

When they finally open she blinked a few times, but was only left with a blurry vision. 

Laura sat up and rubbed at her eyes before they finally came into focus.

She gasped slowly taking in the sight before her. 

Beautiful pink and yellow flowers littered in hills as far as the eye can see to her north, fading into a storm cloud and rain and lightening in the far distance. But she couldn't hear the thunder because the low grumbles were too far out of range. To her right, the flowers faded into a forest. But it wasn't just any ordinary forest. The trees were huge and... purple? 

She rubbed at her eyes again. Yes, they were, in fact purple. The light colored branches faded into a darker color where the leaves hang still. Behind the forest, Laura noticed the dark blue mountains with, what she assumed to be snow, blanketed on top.

Laura looked up to a beautiful, clear blue sky. The sun sparkled. She noticed it didn't hurt to look and smiled again to take in it's beauty. She noticed how big it looks. But it's not too warm out. The temperature was just right. She lay back down, crossing her arms behind her head, when two beautiful, rainbow, huge birds sore past. Their feathers glided effortlessly against the wind showing beautiful long, feathered wings. But there was no wind. Laura let the thought slip her mind while watching the birds fly to her left, where two huge wooden gates stood against yet another purple forest. She perched herself on her hands and watched the birds disappear behind the trees. 

After a few seconds of relaxation, she decided to stand up and get a full 360 spin to reveal the sight to her south. A pink ocean lay calm and genital in the distance, where the flowers met the white sand. She looked down and noticed the flowers only stand to her mid-shin and frowned at herself questioning the clothes she was wearing. Dirty gray, ripped skinny jeans and gray Chuck Taylor's with scratches on the tip. She pulled at her shirt to show a light yellow, springs jacket covered in dirt and... Blood? She tried frantically to scrub at it with her palm and some spit but to no avail. Laura unzipped the jacket and tied it around her waist to reveal a clean, black tank top.

"Inexplicable." Laura thought out loud. She giggled, letting the horrible feeling fade quickly, spreading her arms out more before spinning and softly landing in the pillow of the flower bed. She smiled to herself and closed her eyes drifting off to a deep sleep. 

 

\-  

 

When Laura woke again, she wasn't in the middle of the beautiful field. Rather leaned against the wall connected to the giant gate. She let it pass her mind and decided she probably sleep walked her way over. She's know to do that from time to time. Laura smiled and breathed in the fresh scent of flowers and grass. She looked around taking in the sight from a different view, when she saw across from her, a girl in a stunning white dress emerge from the purple forest, holding a basket in her right hand. 

As the girl got closer, Laura stood up to greet her properly, noting they were the same height.

The girl was stunning. Breath taking. And Laura wondered how much time had passed before she was in front of her, because suddenly, she was.

"I'm glad to see you've awaken." The girl spoke.

Laura smiled like a maniac and tried to find her words.

"Did you get a good rest, darling?" 

Darling? The girl had to have been around the same age as Laura, not too much older or younger.

"Yes, I did." The girl nodded and smiled. "Where are we?" Laura asked looking around again.

"Well, I suppose we're in ágnostos." 

"I'm sorry," Laura hesitated. "Where?"

The girl chuckled. "We're in ágnostos." She put down her basket and ran her fingers through the ruffles of her skirt.

"And that means?....." Laura looked down into the basket and noticed the bright turquoise roses peering over the top. She smiled then resumed her gaze at the mysterious girl. 

"Unknown, in Greek."

Something hit Laura's gut hard. Her once sweet smile turned into a scared quiver when the shock kicked in and she looked at the ground searching for answers.

"Wake me up." Laura thought out loud in a whisper.

"I'm sorry?" The girl asked.

"This is a dream, it has to be." Laura pinched her skin and was taken back by the pain.

"Laura, darling, what are you doing?" The girl reached out a hand at Laura. 

Laura looked sternly at the girl. "You know my name? How?" 

"Well, I know everybody's name here." The girl smiled and moved her arms around to show the space.

Laura looked around again. "There's nobody here." She wiped her sweaty palms on her dirty gray pants and looked back at the girl.

"That's where you're wrong." The girl nodded in the direction of the gate behind Laura. 

Laura turned around and started walking towards the gate. She looked back a few times to see the girl picking up her basket and then smelling the roses, before smiling and waving to Laura.

"What's your name?" Laura called back, watching the girl turn to face the opposite forest.

The girl stopped and looked back at Laura. "It's Ell." Then she skipped back to the forest disappearing into the purple shadows.

Laura turned back around and pushed open the heavy wooden gates with a big huff.


	2. Chapter 2

Laura opened the gate and stepped through into a normal looking forest. The purple trees faded into normal brown trunked trees and the leaves littered the ground in all fall colors. Yellow, brown, orange, and red blanket the ground for a fair distance between the trees until there was a space.

Laura looked back at the gate and purple trees before walking towards the opening. 

While walking, she noticed a large, old bricked building with a sign at its doors.

_**Welcome to Silas University** _

 

-

 

As she approached the building, two red heads walked out of the heavy wooden doors laughing and holding on to each other for support. Their mouths were blue. How peculiar? Maybe it's just something they ate. 

Laura moved aside letting them stumble on when one turned around and caught her breath. 

"Hey, you knew here?" The short haired one asked.

"Yea, hi, I'm Laura Hollis." 

"It's nice to meet you, Laura." The taller, curly haired one stuck out a hand and Laura took it, giving it a quick shake before moving onto the other girls. "My name is Lola Perry, but you can call me Perry and this is my best friend Susan LaFontaine." Perry gestured to the other girl. 

"Them, their, they're, LaF or LaFontaine." They smiled. 

"Noted." Laura looked a little skeptical about the two.

"So frosh, what brings you here?" LaFontaine asked placing two hands to their hips.

"I'm not really sure. A girl- umm, Ell? directed me here." The statement sound a little more of a question. 

"And she didn't explain anything to you?"

"Explain? Explain what?"

"You're in purgatory." LaF blurted out. Something hit Laura hard. Right in the gut. 

She shook her head and giggled. "No, no, really. Where am I?" She looked between the two in search for the real answers, but all they did was look at each other and Perry cleared her throat. 

"I was skeptical at first too. I didn't want to believe it. I mean look around." There were so many people around. Carrying books, laughing, running, kissing, smiling, crying. 

"No, no, I'm not dead. I can't be. I'm breathing, I'm alive." Laura threw her hands around gesturing to everything she was explaining. 

"It's ok to be in denial. I was for over 20 years until LaFontaine showed up."

Did she just say 20 years? "I'm sorry... What?"

"I've been here for only a few years. 2006 way my dead line." They giggled and hooked arms with Perry. 

"2006? A dead line? I'm sorry.. What game are we playing here?" 

"Laura honey, it's no game. It'll all come to you in no time." Perry grabbed Laura's hand. "You'll remember it all soon." 

"Remember what exactly?" Laura frowned her eye brows, starting to get irritated.

"How you died." LaF bluntly stated. 

Perry glared at them. 

"What?" LaF slouched a little. 

Laura took a second to look around. Everyone was wearing different style clothing and different style hair cuts. She looked at Perry who seamed to have been lecturing LaFontaine. She noticed the light blue button up she was wearing. Then she remembered her saying she's been in denial for _20 years_. Then she looked at LaF. If this is really happening, she's been here for 9 years. Laura did the math in her head. 

"1986?" She said out loud to herself.

"What dear?" Perry asked looking back at Laura.

"You've been here since 1986?"

"That's the year I died sweetie." 

"And you since 2006?"

"Suicide." LaF held up their wrists to show the scared skin, with a shrugged expression.

Perry patted their shoulder and smiled at them. 

Laura was sent with a wave of chills. "Right..." She looked back down at her clothes with a troubled expression. "So if I'm really dead right now... How did it happen?"

The two looked at each other and then back at Laura. "You have to figure that out yourself. But if it helps bring anything back, you look like you've been in some sort of freak accident." The shorter one stated. "Does that help at all?"

Laura thought. But her memory was blank. She wondered why she wasn't freaked out. Why isn't this effecting her in any way? 

"Nothing." She shrugged.

"In time." Perry smiled and placed a hand on Laura's shoulder.

"So now what? Where do I go from here?"

"Is there anything In your pockets?" LaF asked.

Laura put her hands in her front pockets. She shook her head then tried the back. She took out a piece of paper and opened it up. 

"Everyone gets one when they get here." LaF said pointing to the paper. 

Laura raised an eye brow and nodded before reading the paper out loud. 

"Dear student, you now attend Silas University. You are here because A. You've sadly died and are now stuck here. B. You've died at a very young age. C. You can't remember what happened and want explanations. Or D. You've been sent here to figure out how to move on. Admission has already been taken care of, the only requirement for you is to attend class." Laura's eyes lingered on the page for a while. "This literally doesn't make any sense..." She crumbled the paper and threw it aside.

"Hey hey wait." LaF ran over and picked up the paper opening it and flipping in to the back. "307." 

"Excuse me?" 

"That's your room number." LaF walked back over to Perry. "Come on, we can take you." They nudged Laura's shoulder walking passed her. "That's our floor too!"

 

-

 

While LaF opened the door, Laura noticed the lack of locks but didn't question it.

"Welcome home, frosh." LaF gestured for Laura to go in first.

When Laura entered she noticed two things. 1. She has a roommate. And 2. Said roommate is a pig and needs a vacuum and a cloths hamper. Laura makes a mental note to make a chore wheel later while tying her jacket tighter around her waist.

She walks over to the middle of the room between the two beds and decides the one to her right littered in books and dirty clothes is probably hers, while the other is unmade and free of anything blocking it. Laura also notices that under the pile of junk is sheets already made. She also noticed that her headboard is empty while the roommates is full of old vintage books and liquor bottles. Then she sits at the computer chair and looks at the roommates side trying to figure her out.

Perry noticed Laura's eyes linger on the roommates bed for a while, before said roommate walks in wearing a pink shirt that says Betty and black skinny jeans.

"Oh, you must be Carmilla?" Perry smiles.

"Must I be?" Carmilla snickers before taking her shirt off and switching it with another.

Something about this girl bothers Laura instantly and she looks away after letting her eyes linger. 

"Well then, Laura, so nice to have you on the floor, I'm sure we'll be seeing a lot of you. Come on Susan." Perry smiles before they walk out hand in hand.

"So! Carmilla is it?" Laura asks a bit too excited.

"Yep, looks like you're my new roommate sweetheart. My condolences." She says before taking her clothes off of Laura's bed and throwing them on the floor. 

"My names Laura. Laura Hollis." She try's to smile and hide her urge to complain about the roommate. 

"And I'm late for a lecture on the French Revolution." She turns to walk out before turning back one last time. "Make yourself at home buttercup." That's the first time Laura got a chance to see her face. She's pretty. Beautiful really. And her mouth was blue too.

 _I don't understand._ Laura thought to herself. _Maybe its some sort or virus going around?_

Laura stood up and realized she was still in disgusting clothes and she felt icky. She didn't get to ask anyone where she gets clothes before they all left, so she walked over to Carmillas wardrobe and noticed all the black. Lots of black. She crouched and opened the dresser attached and noticed all the leather. A lot of leather. 

"Damn, who is this girl?"

"Snooping now are we cupcake?" Carmilla entered the room and Laura quickly slammed the drawer and doors closed. 

"No- I just..." Laura stood up.

Carmilla looked Laura up and down and giggled. "Gosh, what happened to you to end up here?" She interrupted. 

"Apparently I haven't remembered that yet." Carmilla nodded. 

"It'll come to you." She walked over and slouched in her bed.

"So I've been told.." Laura walked over to her bed and pushed the books aside to sit. "So what happened to you?" Carmilla stiffed. Laura noticed and immediately apologized. 

"It's fine creampuff." She huffed. Laura nodded. "Look if you need clothes or whatever you can borrow some of mine and I can take you to the school store."

"Wow, thanks!" Laura smiled. "But don't you have a lecture?" 

"I've heard the lecture many times before." Laura was taken back at this.

"How many is many?" 

Carmilla sat up and hung her legs off the side of the bed facing Laura. "Enough to lose track." She looked away and cooed. 

Laura sighed. She really wanted to figure this girl out. But she understood that with time she would open up. 

"Take anything you need from the wardrobe. I'll clear the books off your bed." Carmilla got up and walked to the other side of the room, starting to pile books together.

"You're quite the collector, huh?" Laura said walking back to the wardrobe. 

"It's mostly philosophy books and vintage novels. Nothing spectacular." 

"Right.." Laura opened the doors to the wardrobe and picked out a loose T-shirt and grabbed skinny jeans from the drawer. "Thanks again." She lifted the clothes and smiled walking to the bathroom in the far right corner. 

"Sweetheart, don't be shy. You need delicate's too." Carmilla husked the last sentence before strutting over to the tall dresser in the far left side of the room. "There three empty drawers in the bottom for you. I have the first two." She stated throwing Laura some lace white underwear and a matching bra.

Laura blushed catching the fabrics. "Th-thanks." She quickly turned into the bathroom.

 

-

 

After a quick shower and a fight with black hair in the drain, Laura exited the shower and changed into Carmillas clothes. 

After she wiped the fog off the mirror and huffed a little noticing a scratch going across her cheek. 

"What happened to you Holl-" Laura paused with her tongue between her teeth. It's blue? Had she already caught what everyone else she's met has? Everyone except for Ell. That might be because Ell is behind the walls. Or maybe she immune? LaF and Perry seamed to know her, so she could ask them when she sees them next. But right now she needs clothes. 

Wait? She needs clothes? Has Laura excepted the fact she's dead? "Am I really dead?" She thinks out loud. Laura places her hands over her face and squishes and moves her skin.

"ouch!" She screeches over the cut on her cheek. She hovered a hand over the wound and sighed.

Exiting the bathroom, Laura noticed the books moved to pile next to Carmilla's bed and Carmilla fast asleep in Laura's. 

Laura smiled to herself and huffed. Carmilla really is beautiful. Maybe she can learn to enjoy her presents.

"You just gonna stand there and gawk at me cutie?" Her eyes were still closed.

"What?" Laura looked away holding her clothes and wet towel. "I wasn't."

"Whatever you say creampuff." Carmilla got up and took Laura's clothes tossing them aside. "We can get a hamper too." 

Laura and Carmilla started walking down the hall to the elevators.

"Oh crap." Laura looked at Carmilla.

"What?" Carmilla looked back.

"I don't have any money." The elevator door opened following a _ding_. 

"That's ok creampuff. We don't really do money here." They walked in and Carmilla hit the bottom floor button.

"If you don't do money how am I suppose to get things at the school _store_?" Laura watched the doors close in front of her.

"Sweetheart, this is the afterlife. We don't use money for anything around here anymore except for blowing our nose." 

"If this is the afterlife why would we need to blow our nose? We shouldn't get sick."

"Touché." Carmilla giggled.

Laura smiled seeing how much she liked Carmilla's laugh.

The doors opened following another _ding_ and Carmilla led the way out of the two big wooden front doors Laura entered from just an hour before. 

They walked down the side walk quietly listening to the laughter of the students and the sound of the trees in the wind. 

"Hey, earlier today, when I was outside the gates, I saw two big rainbow birds. Where'd they go?" 

"The mysterious rainbow birds." Carmilla chuckled. "I haven't seen those fuckers in a very long time. But I hear about them a lot." She smiled and looked at Laura. "They stay outside the gates." 

"Are you sure? Cause I saw them fly over the trees today."

"That's strange. I'll have to get back to you on that."

"So when you say a very long ti-"

"Oh hey we're here." Carmilla interrupted pulling Laura through two open glass doors. 

Laura looked around the clothing shop. It was fair in size. The clothes were sectioned off, boys to one side and girls to another. All of them were roughly around the same size, no kids section, no adults section. But there was a variety of different styles. Old blouses and dresses and skirts and trousers and bow ties and suits and even top hats and corsets. Carmilla took Laura to the area that she liked to get clothes. 

"So explain to me this whole exchange. Why is there no money?" 

"That way there's no stealing." Carmilla took a shirt off the rack and lifted it in front of Laura. She bit her lip and squinted her eyes before shaking her head and putting it back on the rack. "That way everyone's equal.." They continued walking. "We all look out for each other...." She picked up another shirt and smiled handing it to Laura. Laura looked at the shirt and smiled seeing a cupcake in the middle. "Because there's no one to look out for us." Carmilla smiled back at Laura. "But, once we're done with the clothes, or we rip them, exetra exetra, we bring them here and drop them off in a bin to be fixed and washed and exchanged again." 

"So you all trust each other?" Laura started looking through the racks.

"Yep." Carmilla rummaged through the clothes behind Laura. 

"No criminals? No rapes? No violence?" 

"Nope. What's the point?" Laura snorted.

"Point taken." 

"Hey kitty. Fancy seeing you here." 

Carmilla groaned. "Fuck off Will. Not in the mood."

Carmilla's mood changed instantly causing Laura to turn and see a dark haired, light eyed boy looking at Carmilla from the isle across from her. 

"Stand down soldier, I was just coming to say hello..." 

Carmilla turned to Laura and stood next to her looking through those shirts. "Remember when you said 'no criminals'?" Carmilla asked with a sarcastic tone. 

Laura snorted again, walking to a new isle where the dresses hang.

Carmilla and the boy named Will followed. 

"Come on kitty... You're not going to introduce me to your new girlfriend?" 

"She's not my girlfriend, you imbecile." Laura noticed Carmilla's cheeks redden and she could feel her own start to as well. 

"That's no way to speak to your brother."

Laura turned to the two arguing. "Wait did you guys come together?"

"No." They both said in sync.

"I'm older than him." 

"Yea she's old enough to be my great great great great-"

"Ok, nimrod, we get it. You can buzz off now." Carmilla demanded with a middle finger to his face.

 _His tongue is blue too. I'm defiantly going to have to talk to Carmilla about this later._ Laura thought to herself.

"Seriously Carm, how old are you?"

"Carm? Wow.. I'm not even allowed to call her that. Kudos to you fresh meat." Will said turning his attention to Laura. 

Laura's face reddened as she turned back to the dresses, taking two off the rack.

"It's fine." Carmilla whispered to Laura. 

She shivered. 

"Seriously, Will. Harassment isn't allowed here. Just go." Carmilla pointed to the door.

Will huffed and put his hands up in defeat backing up. "See ya later kitty."

"Always a pleasure, jackass." Carmilla turned back to Laura as they started walking over to the pants. "I'm sorry about that. He's not really my brother. But I look at him like one." 

"That's sweet." Laura smiled at Carmilla.

"Yeah yeah." She shoved Laura playfully and stopped short in front of her. Carmilla stood holding up a few shirts to her torso, biting her lip and squinting. Laura stood there trying not to be effected by the other girls face, but damn, she was pretty. 

Satisfied with everything she picked out for Laura, Carmilla took everything Laura was holding and held it for her as the younger girl rummaged through jeans. 

Laura noticed the lack of leather pants in the store. "Where did you get all that leather? I don't see any?" Laura asked confused.

"Thinking of wearing them? I have my methods." Carmilla raised an eye brow.

"No." Laura chuckled. "and ok, I'll just take your word for that."

"Good, if I told you, I'd have to kill ya." Carmilla smirked.

Laura snorted. "Looks like something beat you to it." Laura picked up a few pairs of jeans and made her way to the pajamas. 

"You've got quite a lot of clothing here cutie. You wanna head back home and unpack before getting more?" 

"Sure, that sounds fine." Laura smiled.

"I have to make room for you in the wardrobe anyway." 

Laura smiled again and turned her face away from Carmilla. Things are looking good for her right now.

Carmilla lead them to the front of the store where bags awaited to be filled and two guards - called the Zetas - stood to make sure everything remained under control.

 

-

 

"So cupcake, are you in the mood for some chow?" Carmilla asked throwing Laura's bags on her bed. 

"Can we sit for a second?" Laura asked resting her arms.

Carmilla chuckled. "Sure thing."

"Hey can I ask you a question?"

"You just did." Carmilla grabbed a book off her shelf and opened to a random page, crossing her legs and leaning on the headboard.

"No really." Laura chuckled.

"Shoot." Carmilla said keeping her eyes on the page.

"Why does everyone here have blue tongues?"

Carmilla looked over and sat up, book on her lap. "You know, I'm not really sure. A side effect I guess?"

Laura hummed biting the inside of her cheek. "Everyone except Ell." Carmilla looked down and cleared her throat. 

"Right. Ell."

"Is something wrong?"

"No of course not."

Laura nodded, unsure if she accepted that answer or not.

"We just have... Some odd history is all..."

"You and miss fairy princess?"

"Yeah, but don't let it bother you cutie. She's no competition." Carmilla smirked returning to her book. 

"Oh, glad to hear that. _heh_." Laura cleared her throat. "So you think it's just because we're all dead? Will it wear off?" 

"Yes, I think it's because were all dead. No, I don't think it'll wear off."

"Oh." Laura wanted to ask if Ell was dead, but Carmilla made it clear that she wasn't comfortable taking about her.

A few seconds of silence stood.

"Cupcake, you're starring again."

"How do you do that?" Laura bit back.

"Secret talent. Are you ready to go now?" Carmilla snorted standing and stretching. 

"Sure." Laura stood up too. "Let's go get some chow." She clenched a fist and hooked the air near her stomach.

**Author's Note:**

> So I thought I'd give this a try. I'm actually kind of interested in conspiracy theories about purgatory so why not start a fic?


End file.
